As a former prosecutor and a judge, Judge Maze said she couldn't condone what has gone on in Bath County. But there is more to Champ Maze than the charges he faced, she wrote.

She added that he has been a devoted father to their three boys, often volunteering for positions in their sports leagues when no one else would do the job. He often didn't charge or gave discounts to his poor clients, many of whom are devastated that he can no longer practice law, she wrote.

Her husband of 19 years, unfortunately, got sucked into Bath County politics, which she has loathed since she moved there in 1988, she wrote.

"There are many good people in Bath County, but the line between right and wrong has been blurred for years and years. This is nothing new," Judge Maze wrote.

Reading between the lines, according to Ms. Maze, vote-buying has probably been going on for years in Bath County, Kentucky.

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